Harsh? West Ham dealt blow by Andy Carroll’s red card against Swansea

Andy Carroll was given his marching orders after an altercation with Chico Flores (Picture: Reuters)

It seems like it’s one step forward, two steps back for West Ham at the moment.

The Hammers have only just welcomed Andy Carroll back from a long-term injury and they’ve already lost him again, after the striker was handed a straight red card against Swansea, following a tussle with Chico Flores.

The sending-off means Carroll will now miss important encounters against Aston Villa, Norwich and Southampton as Sam Allardyce’s men continue their fight for Premier League survival.

And it was a day that had started so well for West Ham, with two first-half goals from Kevin Nolan giving his side a 2-0 lead over the Swans.

But with just 13 second-half minutes played, the Hammers found themselves reduced to 10 men as Carroll swung an arm at Chico – who went to ground rather theatrically – causing referee Howard Webb to brandish a red card.

We’ll leave it up to you to decide if it was a harsh dismissal or not.

Of course, Chico already has history with West Ham, after an alleged dive in the reverse fixture earlier this season prompted this fantastic reaction from Allardyce.